Childhood Frozen in Time

I fully admit to being a nostalgic sap. Looking at old pictures or rummaging through boxes of old stuff always seems to put me in the scenario where I look up at the clock and an hour has gone by and I forgot why I had originally looked through these things in the first place.

So since Riley was born and since I get this nostalgic trait from my mom, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching my son play with the old toys that my mother has kept in the attic for the past few decades. Riley has thoroughly enjoyed playing with my old Matchbox cars which are timestamped from the 1970's and probably have lead based paint on them. I have been thrown back in time reading my old books to him - specifically "Elmer's a Big Boy Now"; the coming of age tale of a young elephant and his epic quest to use the potty. However, in playing with these Matchbox cars or reading about Elmer's digestive issues, I can't really say when the last time I actually interacted with these things myself. I remember playing with them and I remember reading them. However, I can't really capture the final moments when I put them away for the last time and relegating them to decades of waiting until the next generation of Delps were ready to enjoy them again.

That is until this last time in Pennsylvania. Riley is now 4 and has graduated to a few more mature (i.e. potentially edible) toys. Specifically Lego's. Now, I used to LOVE playing with Lego's. I would spend Sunday afternoons pouring out thousands of pieces onto my bed and then carefully constructing various planes, forts, all-terrain vehicles and vast worlds typically living somewhere in the outer reaches of the solar system. I would have a plan in my head. I would find certain pieces and set them aside or put them in my mouth (which occasionally led to the accidental ingestion of a red plastic light) and then slowly construct my masterpiece.

One afternoon, I saw that Mom had brought down my old Tupperware container of Legos. I opened it up so Riley could play with them and found this:

It is vintage elementary school Ryan: a Gatling gun, a captain's chair and storage for various space equipment. Here in my hand was a picture of me that was probably 25 years old. At some point in my young life (probably a Sunday afternoon), I was creating this space vehicle and for one reason or another, put it in my Tupperware container to come back to it another day. Only that day never came. So here was a physical snapshot of an actual moment from my childhood. A window into my young creativity that I could hold in my hands. Riley asked to hold it in his hands too which I allowed but only as I watched him as if he were holding a Faberge egg.

Riley was obviously less impressed and wanted me to build him something which I gladly did. The moment sent me back in time and my building juices started flowing. I began making little planes and cars and boats. Riley, however, wanted to simply play. Once his creation was built, he wanted to just play. I wanted to build. At one point, he finally said, "Daddy, will you stop building and play with me?" So I obliged and father and son drove our vehicles over the piles of Legos that used to consume my mind and Sunday afternoons.

Riley was in a garbage truck mood so I built him this:

It was the first creation I had made since that space battleship circa 1980-something. Since then I had graduated high school and college, traveled the world, fell in love with a beautiful woman and had two gorgeous kids. One of which was now driving over the Legos and picking up the small pieces because they were "garbage." To me, these were not garbage. They were a piece of my childhood, an express trip down memory lane, a reminder of how I would spend my Sunday afternoons.

I can't wait to play Legos with Riley again. We will have new creations to build. Now if I could just find that red plastic light?

Reflecting on a Year

They say that time flies when you're having fun. I would like to challenge that statement. I would simply say that Time Flies. As I have gotten older, time has simply flown. The only time that time does not fly is when you are waiting at the DMV (which I guess makes it the antithesis of "having fun"). So looking back, I can hardly believe a year has passed since we moved from Pennsylvania to Illinois.

Last week, it was a year to the day that we started up the big moving truck and drove 14 hours through every form of weather imaginable and arrived, in six inches of snow, at our new home. I look at pictures of Missy, Riley and my mom as they sat in the Philadelphia airport waiting to take them on a one way flight to a new life. I remember our first morning in Illinois as we walked in the snow on the highway close to our house to get coffee and wonder how we weren't run over by one of the hundreds of cars going to work. Those first few days were a whirlwind of new beginnings. We laid out our living room, kitchen and bedrooms. We set up our basement to be both guest and kid friendly. We set up our utilities. It was a never ending process of starting new. It was exciting and terrifying.

Then there was my first day of work. It felt like the first day of school (I wore a tie!). However, my expectations were quickly destroyed. The job was different than what I had anticipated. Things that I didn't think I had to do and didn't want to do, I was now required to do. There were issues with health insurance, my computer, everything. I was in full fledged panic mode. I came home from my first day and cried.

Then we tried looking for a church. The first church we visited has less people than whatever room you are sitting in right now. They were extremely friendly but not for us. The next week we visited another church and it was here, that I hit my breaking point. Riley, who is the picture of social and excitement, wouldn't go into Sunday School. He typically RUNS into new situations with a smile on his face. However, this week, he clung to me. I did my very best to put on a happy face and tell him that church was fun and he would have a great time. However, inside I was dying. And then it came out. I sat in that service and cried uncontrollably. I still feel bad for the guy who sat next to me. I couldn't stop the feeling that this was a mistake. Everything had been a challenge and was awkward and was uncomfortable. It was everything that our old home was not.

After about two months, things started to BEGIN to feel comfortable. We started getting into a routine. I wasn't having panic attacks every morning before work. Then Ava was born. And our lives changed again. After two months of figuring out our new normal, we had an even newer one. And we had to start over again.

Now I can't tell you when things changed. I don't think it was a specific day or a specific moment. But I can tell you, sitting here, that it has. Missy and I are better parents, better spouses and better people for making this move. It was one of the hardest, if not THE hardest thing we ever have done. We said goodbye to family and friends that we love dearly. But we did it with the thought that this was what was best for us and our kids. And I think we were right.

The challenges, the struggles, the tears, the pain, the awkwardness - THAT is what made us better. Had we chosen the safe, comfortable path of least resistence, there is no way we would be where we are today. If there is one thing that Missy and I have learned over the course of our time together, it is that we have grown the most in the times when we have been challenged. As normal humans, our desire is to comfortable, to have an easy life. However, as Christians, we are called to be challenged and uncomfortable because it is during these moments when we grow.

One thing that I must mention is that during this time, we realized just how much we are loved by our friends and family. The support, the encouragement and the love we received and continue to receive is more valuable to us than anything we can communicate. In a place where we often felt alone and on the outside, we had people who helped us make this our home.

There is a picture that was taken last summer when we took my parents downtown to the Hancock building. It was perfectly clear day with a million dollar view and a lunch that wasn't much cheaper. I looked at this picture and to me, it was the picture of what this move meant to me as a parent. It says to my kids (Riley in particular as Ava was sleeping somewhere), "here is your future". It is full of uncertainty, unknown challenges and unknown blessings.

Missy and I took the difficult leap of faith to move out here. Our hope is that as Riley and Ava grow up, they will look at their future, with its uncertainty, unknown challenges and unknown blessings and take those leaps of faith. Let's just hope they are smarter than us and don't move across the country in the dead of winter.

A Real Time Blog of the Oscars

Welcome to the 2011 blog of the Oscars. After a year's hiatus, I am back to share my thoughts on the lovefest that is the annual award show celebrating the year in cinema. Missy and I are once again making our blind choices for Best Everything. We have seen all of three (I think) movies that are up for awards. True Grit (a sweet night out that included a visit to an Irish Pub and deli sandwiches), Inception (a sweet night in using On Demand for the first time) and Harry Potter 7 (a sweet night at the Imax with my sister and bro in law). We did also see Iron Man2 but that won't win anything. So I have instilled some theories about who gets awards, in particular those that no one cares about - documentaries, short films, etc. Stay tuned:

OK - 8:35 - we are DVR'ing this so we are an hour behind but we will be fast forwarding through commercials and musical numbers. So we start with a montage of the best movie nominees. Nice that they are not trying to be too funny to start. Never mind. Here it comes. With the guy from Spiderman and Anne Hathaway hosting, this should be interesting. An Alec Baldwin sighting: nice. Ok, so Inception down and now Facebook movie. Ok, now they are in Back to the Future. So this is actually kind of funny. So far so good. The intro is usually the highlight of the show so we will see if it is downhill from here. Note: Missy says that Anne Hathaway is "Julie Roberts-esque". She wanted me to add that.

8:43 - So it has gone downhill. The opening exchange is a little rough. Though the Spiderman guy's grandmom is the comedic centerpiece. Not looking good.

8:45 - A reference to Gone with the Wind and now Tom Hanks is on stage. Why is he talking about Gone with the Wind? Now they are showing Titantic. They know this is a 3 hour show, right? Start presenting things! That is the biggest intro for Art Direction ever. And the winner for Art Direction is....."Alice in Wonderland" - Missy and I both went 0-fer. We didn't see that one. And now we begin the awkward acceptance speeches. This guy is sweating. Ok, so the guy used a prop that no one saw. This show is awkward.

8:50 - And now Best Cinematography - "Inception" - Missy and I both got this right because, well, we saw this movie. So the guy who won just said that he wants to "Just breath and take it in" and now he is on the clock. He is now speeding up his speech and Oh! Just under the wire, there is the music.

8:53 - (our first fast forward past the commercials, I love DVR) - Here comes Kirk Douglas. I was pretty sure he died 20 years ago but apparently not. Oh, he had a stroke. I have no soul. He is presenting something. I can't figure out exactly what it is. Best Supporting Actress. Missy and I both picked the girl from True Grit because, again, that was the one we saw. He is trying to be funny. Oh please stop. Just read it. It hurts. Please. Oh gosh. I feel sick. Reaching for the fast forward button....Melissa Leo of the Fighter. There were two nominees from this film so they played the odds. Kirk is still talking. Someone lead him off. I hope this lady gets an extra 3 minutes. And maybe not. She is just breathing. And she dropped the F-bomb. And now she is embarrassed. Reaching for the fast forward button.....she is using his cane to walk off. That was awful.

9:03 - Here comes Missy's boy, Justin Timberlake. So they are doing the animated films. So here is theory #1 - if the movie starts with "Pixar Presents" - it wins an award. If it is pro - environment and anti-business - it wins an Oscar. So my pick was for the animated short - "Let's Pollute". And I was wrong. Best Animated Short - The Lost Thing. When are these movies even shown? Who watches them? So these guys are Australian. I guess they are shown in Australia.

9:07 - Let's see if my second theory is right. Best Animated Film - Pixar Presents - Toy Story 3. I think every guy that I have ever seen win from Pixar was a grown up version of a 10 year old boy. I guess that makes sense.

9:11 - Josh Brolin and Javier Bardiem in white tuxes for Best Screenplay. Or Adapted Screenplay. I went with True Grit because everyone said "Have you seen the original? I like this better." The Facebook movie wins. I wonder how many people will "Like" that? Get it? "Like"? Facebook? I need to type something while this guy yaps away. Oh and here comes the music. He doesn't care. Talking faster......louder music.....who is going to win? Louder music....still talking. I think the winner is the guy. He just didn't stop. And NOW Best Screenplay. Why is Bardiem doing the nominees? I have no idea what he is saying. And the winner is Kings Speech. They were nominated for like 393749823 awards so I guess they need to get one. Once again, Inception is our downfall. This guy is the oldest person who ever won the award. He said his mom told him he was a late bloomer. That was the funniest thing so far. An update on the count - Missy - 1, Ryan - 2.

9:19 -Oh no, a musical number. Anne is mocking Hugh Jackman. At least they are not doing the Best Musical numbers for real. She actually has a pretty good voice. Why they took 3 minutes to just mock Jackman, I don't know. And the Spiderman guy is in drag and mocking Charlie Sheen.

9:22 - And the weirdest duo - Helen Mirren and Mr. Katy Perry. She is speaking French. Ok, I get it - Best Foreign Film - my theory here is if a film is nominated for ANYTHING else in another category, it will win best Foreign Film - Javier Bardiem is nominated for Best Actor in a foreign film so it will win. And that theory is shot too - a movie from Denmark won - A Better World. This is always interesting because these people are scared out of their minds and English is their second or third language.

9:25- Oh man, the announcer guy just botched the intro for Reese Witherspoon. When the announcer messes up, things are not looking good. Now we are to the Best Supporting Actor. My theory here is that if you mess up your body (gain or lose a billion pounds), you win. That's why I picked Christian Bale. And I was right. A British guy with a Boston accent. He deserves it. It is very odd seeing Batman with a nasty beard who actually sounds like the awkward drunk guy you meet in a pub in London. He should win every award just because he is hiding this awful accent. I can't believe he sounds like this. He just said, "Where's my quacker?" I bet he going to get a pint or three and then watch Manchester United play after this.

9:31 - There are two people who must be part of "The Man". I think they just made a big announcement but no one gets it. OK, so ABC will do the Oscars through 2020. They get their own part of the show for that? No wonder this show goes over three hours.

9:33 - Two beautiful Aussies - Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman are going over the history of sound in movies and now here comes the symphony playing all the classics, so this must be Best....Sound Editing.....no, Sound Mixing.....no, Best Song.....oh and the one I didn't pick, Best Original Score. No theories here. Just the fast forward button. Wait, Trent Reznor is up for an Oscar. If the lead singer of Nine Inch Nails who sang one of the most profane songs in history wins an Oscar, I am holding onto my couch because the world will stop rotating. He did. The world is coming to an end. They just announced that this is the first nomination for Trent Reznor. Really? He cut his hair so he looks normal. He was calm, collected, I just don't have words. This may stay with me a while. Trent Reznor just won an Oscar and looked and sounded more normal than anyone else on stage.

9:39 - Scarlett Johannsen and that goof McCounohey or however you spell it are up for Best Looking Presenters - no - Best Sound Mixing - Inception is the winner. I think every one of these type of awards we picked Inception because, well, you should know by now. And now Best Sound Editing - by the way, how do you edit sound? Do they know how long the sound of a gun going off is? Oh! And Inception wins again. We are on a hot streak. And somehow it is a different guy. Can't they cut some corners and have the guy who "mixes" also "edit". Do they sit next to each other? I should run this stuff.

9:49 - Oh it is Marisa Tomei. She is great. I will like her forever because she had a crush on George on Seinfeld. Ok, so she awarded the Scientific nerds earlier this month. They weren't even allowed to the cool kid party. I bet those guys were happy just to talk to Marisa Tomei. And Franco just called them nerds outright. So he wins one point from me.

9:52 - Here is Kate Blanchett with the Best Makeup. And she just won an Oscar for Best Nominee in a Supporting Role. The winner is: The Wolfman. And the guy who won might be a Wolfman. Creepy. Missy and I both picked this one because it seemed logical. You are turning a guy into a wolf. How can anyone compete with that? Also, there were only 3 nominees. It must have been a slow year for makeup. Kate is still up there. Best Costume design. I would think the person made her dress should be nominated. It looks like there should be a clock in the middle of her dress. The winner - Alice in Wonderland. That would make sense. Tim Burton is the oddest person alive. He makes a movie about a fantasy world. This was a layup. This lady is reading. And fast forwarding.....

9:58 - The man on the street opinions of Best Song and then the Man on the Street - Pennsylvania Ave. - President Obama saying it should be "As Time Goes By". I guess that is the winner. Hey, there is Kevin Spacey. I don't think he has done anything since The Negotiator. Ok , so my next theory. If the Best Song starts with "From Pixar's...." it will win Best Song. So THAT is what the guy who does all of the Pixar movies looks like. Randy Newman. His voices makes me smile and think everything will be ok. I don't care about the rest. Fast forward button.

10:03 - Why does Spiderman guy always have a smile that looks like he stole something.........and then smoked it? Here is Jake Gyllenhallllll and Amy Adams for Best Documentary Short with a good point: this IS probably the hardest one to pick on your home ballot. I had no idea. I picked "Killing in the Name" because that is the name of a song by Rage Against the Machine. And I was wrong. Strangers No More. Who WATCHES these things? I honestly want to know where they are played. And now we are to the Best Live Action Short. Wait, aren't they the same thing? God of Love won. This guy has a crazy afro and is running. I can't wait to hear what he says. He should have gotten a haircut. Ok, thanks man. He just said you can find them on itunes. Whoa, ok, man. Ease off the espresso. I would say that was the Best Original moment.

10:11 - I am not sure what this is but it is funny. They are making scenes from movies with that voicebox thing that connects with guitars. Kind of random but funny.

10:13 - Aw, there is Oprah. She is presenting for Best Documentary. Just by her mentioning their names, they will become the five most highest grossing films of all time. My theory here is similar to the other films that no one sees - make it pro-environment and anti-business and you will win. So I went with "Waste Land" (I was also thinking "Gas Land") but I was wrong. The winner is Inside Job. Ok, so the name wasn't so explicit but this one apparently was anti-business. The guy started by saying that all CEO's should go to jail. Oh by the way, thanks for all those who helped make this possible. Oprah just gave him the $3 billion she had in her purse.

10:17 - Hey there is Billy Crystal. He is getting a standing O. I think he used to present like 20 years ago. Which was the last time he was on TV. He is talking about Bob Hope and how he used to host the Oscars. So they have a kind of ghost of Bob Hope. Is he going to present? He is going to present the awards for Best Visual Effects - no make that he is going to present Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. That was kind of odd. They are making fun of Downey's drug days. Good times. This was a tough one because we saw THREE of these - Inception, Harry Potter and Iron Man2. And the winner is Inception. Missy gets one up on me. I had a 50/50 shot as Iron Man was terrible. I took Harry Potter and she took Inception. And now they are going with Film Editing - The Facebook movie. I would be very curious to know what makes good editing. Every Facebook winner has thanked the director and when they go to him, he looks like he is waiting for a bomb to go off.

10:28 - So here are the other two nominated songs and here is the fast forward button.....wait, Gwyneth Paltrow is singing? Man, does she have some pull. She wins an Academy Award for Best Actress and now she tries singing and what happens? She is up for an Academy Award for Best Song. I just don't think she can beat the Pixar juggernaut, Randy Newman. And I'm right. This guy is the Merrill Streep of Best Song. Now he is ripping the Academy. I want to hang out with this guy. He is like 90 but pretty awesome.

A quick update of the score - Missy - 6 Ryan - 7

And now we see who died this year and they bring out Celine Dion to sing a song called "Smile". If I were related to the people who died, I don't know if I would pick a song about smiling for the theme song. Gotta love Hollywood. Ok, so let's monitor the applause-o-meter to see who gets the biggest cheer for dying. Apparently they shut down on the clapping. Leslie Nielsen scrolled by and nothing. I wonder if Celine Dion put the kabosh on that one. Dennis Hopper....nothing. She must have. That crazy Canadian didn't want any noise during her singing.

And now here is Halle Berry talking about someone. It doesn't matter who. I vote for more Halle Berry and less of the Spiderman guy.

10:43 - It is getting late and all the big ones are still up. I wonder why they have the Best Supporting Actress so early and then no other big ones until the end. Anyway, we just had Anne Hathaway introduced Hilary Swank who introduced the lady who won Best Director last year. So we are to Art Direction which is a relief because I thought I missed it and was going to have to start all over again. This was another 50/50 for Missy and I with Potter and Inception. And the winner is "The King's Speech". I guess I need to this movie. Missy loves Colin Firth. I think we have our next Netflix pick in the queue. This guy is going on and on and telling a way too in detail story about his mom and this movie and they didn't give him the music treatment. I guess Art Direction gets more time.

10:49 - Here is Annette Benning talking about another ceremony where they honored guys who did stuff. I guess this is lifetime achievement awards? These guys are old and everyone is standing and there is lots of music. It must be a lifetime achievement award. There is Francis Ford Coppola. He did the Godfather movies so I am standing and applauding too.

10:52 - Here is Jeff Bridges with the Best Actress awards. He obviously hasn't shaved since True Grit. Here is my theory on this one. If there is someone named "Natalie Portman" in the mix, she wins. Because I want her too. She is pregnant so it will be interesting to see her walk up those steps. And the winner is - Natalie Portman. Oh good, her husband helped her up the steps. Please don't go into labor. Please don't go into labor. Wow, she is thanking a billion people. Will she thank the caterer? No.

11:00 - Here is Sandra Bullock with the Best Actor nominees. Remember when she was in Speed? She is great. She is just ripping the guys. The Facebook guy looks terrified. I wonder how the Spiderman guy who is hosting will also react to being ripped by Sandra Bullock. He is backstage and he probably just took something for the nerves. And the winner: Colin Firth. Missy, if she was still conscious, would be so happy. To hear him talk in his smooth British accent compared to Christian Bale makes me wonder if there was a time when Christian was Colin's landscaper.

11:10 - Man, are we over the time. Here is Spielberg. That means we are at the Best Picture awards. Oh gosh, did I miss Best Director? Please tell me I don't have to go back. Ryan wants sleepy. I am always a sucker for montages so as they are showing all the movies with the Colin Firth's (The King) Speech in the background. So here is the Best Picture - The King's Speech. When you use the actual speech to intro all of the other movies, there is a pretty good chance you will win. But I am pretty sure this means I missed Best Director.

11:18 - Here comes a bunch of kids to sing Somewhere over the Rainbow. Isn't it past their bedtime. And does anyone know who won Best Director? Anyone?

Final tally on the awards:

Ryan - 12

Missy - 7

Well it's past my bedtime so here is to another year of the Oscars. Thankfully, I am on Central time so it is only 11:21. And congratulations to the Best Director. Whoever you are.

The United Nations of Volleyball

I love volleyball. I have played it, technically, since I was like 7 years old at family camp. I have played organized volleyball since I was a freshman in high school. I won't tell you how long ago that was but I will tell that Bush #1 was in office. I played all through high school and college. I played (and won my only intramural championships) as an employee at Taylor for two years after I graduated. When I moved back to PA, I joined a team and played with them for longer than I have been married. Let me say again: I love volleyball.

So when we moved to Chicago, one thing that was initially on the itinerary was to find and join a volleyball team. However, the transition to the area followed by the transition of baby #2 followed by me being lazy led to a full 365 days going by where I didn't play a single game of volleyball. Finally, with the prompting and research of my beautiful wife, I stepped onto the court last night for the first time in a year.

The local facility (I won't go into the explanation of what a park district is but just know they are pretty cool if you like doing active or outdoorsy things) has an open gym twice a week. I had heard that these go on and that they were competitive. Now the word "competitive" can mean different things to different people. I have heard family reunion games described as "competitive". So I was not sure what to expect. What I got was the United Nations of Volleyball.

I am used to playing with good old fashioned white American guys. My experience has been that volleyball seems to be a sport played predominantly by white guys. I find this odd as there is a lot of jumping involved and the notion has always been that white guys can't jump. They should make a movie about that some time. I walked in the gym and there was one court set up with, what else, white guys. They obviously played every week because the sides were chosen and some were wearing uniforms. So court 1 was pretty well taken and no one was getting on there.

However, on court 2.....

There were six guys, myself included, kind of standing around looking to play some volleyball. They were: me - white guy #1, Chris - white guy #2, Francis - an Indian, Luis - a Hispanic and two guys whose names I never got but they were Polish. Soon, a few more guys came: another Indian guy, a few more Polish guys and a Chinese guy named "Tom". So if you are keeping track, that is two white guys, two Indians, a Hispanic, at least four Polish guys (apparently the Polish love volleyball, who knew?) and a Chinese guy named "Tom". It was easily the most diverse group of people I have ever played with. It was the United Nations of Volleyball.

Now, I wouldn't say that it was the highest level of volleyball I have ever played in my life. However, for me playing for the first time in a year, it was great. But the thing that stood out to me the most was just how well everyone got along. Here we were, guys from all kinds of different backgrounds, nationalities and skill sets, playing together for a couple of hours and just having a great time. There were lots of laughs and high fives. There were no arguments (I can't say the same for Court 1) and we all shook hands after every game.

After a few hours, my body reminded me that I hadn't played in a year and I called it a night. Before I left, I shook hands with a number of guys and promised I would be back. Now, I miss my team from PA and nothing will ever replace those guys. However, I do look forward to again being a delegate at the United Nations of Volleyball.

Though sitting here a day after playing for three straight hours, being able to move only my fingers as every other part of my body is in agony, I may take a week off to recover.

It Depends on Traffic

So we moved out to the burbs of Chicago eight months ago. Overall, we have really enjoyed living here. We can walk to the park, the train, the coffee shop, the bakery, the library and two local bar/restaurants among other things. However, we do quite a bit of driving too. With my job, I have to drive around the city quite a bit. I am starting to get my bearings but there are still alot areas that I am not familiar with. So in our travels, whether it be business or pleasure, we have asked quite often how long it takes to get from point A to point B. In Pennsylvania, the first thing out of peoples' mouths was a time; ten minutes, twenty minutes, an hour, etc. Here in land of Chicago, the first thing out of everyone's mouth is always the same thing.

It depend on traffic.....

Never in my life have I had to factor in traffic so much as I do living here. It first really became noticeable when we took our weekend trips this summer. In summer's past, we would drive to our house in Maryland and it would take 2 hours and 15 minutes and you could almost set your watch to it. Occasionally, you would hit traffic for part of the trip and it could stretch to 2 1/2 hours or a little more. However, that was more the exception than the rule. This summer, we took trips to Indiana, Michigan (twice) and Pennsylvania. To get out of Chicago, it took us 45 minutes, an hour, an hour and a half and two plus hours. The time it took us over two hours was the 14 hour trip to Pennsylvania. It was followed (after I stupidly announced that it should be smooth sailing from here on out) by our carsick child (most likely from stopping and starting for two hours) projectile vomiting all over the back of the car.

With work, I have found that I am rarely on time for an appointment. I always factor in traffic but there have been times when I factor in too MUCH time. I have been an hour and a half late for an appointment and 40 minutes early for an appointment. It depends on traffic.

The funny thing is that people who have lived here for a while seem to just be used to it. They laugh at my stubborness and insistence that there HAS to be a time when the roads (I-90 aka the Jane Addams aka the Kennedy aka the Dan Ryan aka the Skyway aka the Bain of my Existence in particular) are packed with people. They just have learned to factor in extra time for traffic. I am starting to come around and my eyes have been opened to the beauty of public transportation. But I still think that I should be able to beat the time it says on Google Maps to get from point A to point B rather than have it take 50% longer.

So now when people ask me how I like Chicago and getting around the city, I have one response to them.

It depends on the traffic.

Child #2

I went back and read my first blog post after Riley was born and I wrote it 2 1/2 weeks after he came into this world. I am now sitting here posting my first entry after child #2 almost exactly 2 1/2 MONTHS after she was born. I got up early this morning (my first Saturday at home with no plans in a month) to start writing with a cup of coffee in the quiet of my own house. I am now sitting here next to my son as he watches Curious George and accidentally kicks me in the ribs. I did get the coffee though.

And thus the theme of life with two children.

Ava Grace was born on May 3rd at about 1:00 in the morning. Continuing with the theme of everything new, we debuted a new maternity wing at the local hospital. The nurses and doctors were constantly looking for things and marveling at the new facilities and equipment, even as Missy was in the throws of child birth.

From the moment she was born, she has had me wrapped around her finger. She is gorgeous. I think she has more brown hair than I do. She has her mom's beautiful blue eyes. And recently she has added a beautiful smile to go along with those eyes. She is more mellow than her brother (which isn't too hard to be). However, she lets her opinion be known when necessary. People have told me that "there is just something about girls". And it absolutely true. I don't know if it is all those pink clothes or what. But there is just something about girls.

Our neighbor had a good sports analogy when going from one kid to two. When you have one child, you can double team. When you have two, you play man-to-man. (By the way, when you have more than two, you play zone.) It is true. When we had one child who was up way too early, we could rotate who would get up with him. Now when we have TWO kids who are up way too early, we each have to painfully roll out of bed. Conversely, when we would put one child down to bed, we could enjoy some precious time with just Missy and I. Now, we have to wait until both kids are asleep which, given Ava's stage of life, varies dramatically. Time to ourselves has been few and far between.

And thus the two month hiatus from the blog.

However, that being said, there is something beautiful about seeing your first child interact with your second. Quite honestly, I was a little bit concerned with how Riley would handle having to share attention with another person. He likes being the center of everything (not sure where he gets that from) and now he has to share the stage. For the most part, he has been great. He LOVES his sister. He can be a little rough with her but it is almost always in an attempt to show his affection. The best times are when we walk in and see him talking to her without any prodding by us.

So overall, it has been a tremendous blessing having child #2. It has, of course, caused certain things to be put on the back burner - like blog posts for example. The phrase that I remember thinking when we first had Riley was "beautifully unproductive". The list of things that you want to get done grows while the time you have to accomplish those things lessens. However, it is worth it in more ways than I can list here. Or perhaps I can:

This blog was started at 7:00 this morning. I am finishing it at 10:00 at night. In the meantime, I have (among other things) built a tower of blocks with my son, played catch with my son, washed both cars with my son, played trains with my son, rode various carnival rides with my son at the local "block party", helped my son with potty training, made my daughter smile, put her down for a nap and watched a movie with my wife.

Sometimes the blog can wait.

The Move

The last time I posted I talked about the background and process in deciding to move to Chicago. I am now writing this sitting in our new house in Chicago. We have lived here now for not quite two weeks. I just started week #2 at my new job.

And it is just beginning to not seem like a dream.

Two weeks ago today, I was in PA. We were just starting the process of getting our house packed into a 26' box truck. From the beginning, it was clear that the road (both figuratively and literally) would not be easy.

Riley picked up a nasty cough that progressively got worse. We took him to the doctor the Saturday before we left when he said his ear hurt (ear infection). It turned out to be a chest infection that was contageous. Naturally, a few days later, Missy, seven months pregnant and fighting in the trenches of parenting a sick child - laying with him at night, wiping running noses, getting face fulls of coughs - picked up the illness in the form a sinus infection. She went to the doctor the day before we left.

Mother Nature also decided to make our path a little tougher. The day before we left, it rained. All day. And blew. All day. Also, yet another PA snow storm was brewing. It didn't look to affect those of us driving out. However, Missy, Riley and my mom were going to fly out on Thursday and that seemed to be in jeopardy. When we woke up early (like every morning before that) on Wednesday, the weatherman predicted enough doom and gloom that we changed their flights to Wednesday. The Delps were now all leaving PA on Wednesday.

The caravan, my dad, my dad in law, my brother in law (who graciously both flew in and both had flights cancelled coming in) and myself left Pennsylvania for Illinois on Wednesday, February 24th. The trip through Pennsyvlania mountains with a loaded truck was slow moving. What would normally take five hours, took seven. However, once we hit the Midwest and flatter roads, we were able to make up some time. That is, until the snow hit. Four different times we drove though white out snow conditions though miraculously none of snow stuck. That is, until we hit western Indiana. Then the snow fell and stuck significantly. To say the last two and a half hours were stressful would be a gross understatement. As we weaved our way through construction and traffic entering Chicago, we drove on packed down snow, witnessed a truck spin out and smack into a wall and prayed that our trip would end soon.

And finally it did. Fourteen and a half hours after it started. And there, waiting for us, just as they been there when we left, were Missy, Riley and my mom. Along with them were my sister in law, Katy would had graciously gotten some food and drinks for the weary travelers.

The next several days were a whirlwind of unloading, unpacking and organizing. Not to mention emotions. Sunday, we very sadly and painfully said goodbye to my parents. Goodbyes are never clean and easy. Especially with those you love the most. We drove away from O'Hare airport towards our new home and our new life. And I confess I was, for the first time, starting to feel a little scared.

Going to work the next day was like the first day of school times a billion. I put on a tie for the first time in a year. I walked into my new job having very little idea of what to expect. As it turned out, what I did expect actually had changed.

So here I was. In a new town. In a new state. In a new job. With a new child coming in seven weeks. When we do change and transition, we don't do one at a time. We do it all simultaneously.

Several times last week, I found myself driving to work listening to the local talk radio station or walking into our new house and thinking, where the heck are we? Is this even real?

The fact is, it is real. We are now living in Illinois. We have, by choice, created probably the biggest challenge of our lives. And it is unbelievably scary. And uncomfortable. And unfamiliar. In a place where everyone around us is comfortable.

However, it is clear that this is where God wanted us. And it is clear that God did not call us to a life of comfort and ease. Though our human desire is to feel safe, secure and comfortable, the fact is we rarely, if ever, grow in those situations. We grow when we face challenges.

So in a strange way, I am excited to see what lies in store for the Delp family. We have (let me list the phrases I have heard that describe our situation) wiped the slate clean, started over, are flying by the seat of our pants, will sink or swim (and my favorite) are like the explorer Cortes who burned his boats when he reached Mexico. There is some truth in each those (though some are more dramatic than others). But God will provide. We have a tremendous support system both locally and across state lines. We have felt tremendous love through this process. Now we have to simply take it one day at a time.

And it can start by someone telling me how to get to the grocery store.

Baby #2

April 27th - So I started this blog post on January 7th of this year. Obviously, a few things have happened since then. Now, on the eve of our due date for baby #2, I think it is time to post this blog. Below is what I posted a few months ago.

January 7th - As documented in the previous post, a lot of things have happened over the past months that have caused excitement, nervousness, stress and have moved Missy and I to lots of prayer.

However, one thing that has not is probably the most significant thing that has occurred in our lives over the past several months and that is that Missy is pregnant!

I am not sure if it is because we are so focused on the transition to Chicago or that this is our second go around or a combination of both but the pregnancy of baby #2 has been quite a different experience from Riley.

I remember after finding out we were pregnant with Riley, we immediately called the doctor and set up an appointment. I recall being completely stressed (shocker) that we had to wait a month before the doctor would see us. This time, a week after we found out, I asked Missy if she had called to make an appointment and she responded with "Oh yeah, I guess I should do that."

I think I put up somewhere in the neighborhood of 237,489,479,528,374 blog posts about Riley and being a dad, etc. This is the first I have mentioned on this blog and we are about to enter our third trimester.

The fact that we are going to have a baby has driven our timeline as to when we move to Chicago yet, somehow, I haven't wrapped my mind around the fact our family is going to increase by 25%.

That is until two events occurred. The first was the ultrasound. The ultrasound always gets you because the life growing inside your wife goes from an evergrowing bump to a moving, living person. Our baby, apparently, is a thumb sucker. I didn't realize that was a habit that could form in utero but it is.

April 27th - That is where I ended. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the second thing was. However, I do have a second thing now just keep reading.

Since then we have obviously moved, found a new doctor, found a new hospital and (thank God) found a new health insurance company. Also, our baby has grown. She is moving all over the place. That's right, we are having a girl. Riley is going to have a sister. When we first found out, he called her "baby shmishmer". Now a few months later, he can actually pronounce the word "sister". Both of our kids have grown.

I feel bad that I have gone basically this entire pregnancy without posting anything about it. I have thought about it but not in the same way as Riley. So much has happened since we found out we were pregant. The transition to Chicago has admittedly consumed much of my thoughts, time and prayers. But now.....

Now, we have a room waiting for her. Looking into that room makes me so excited to see her. We have pink curtains hanging in front of the window. We have pink clothes hanging in the closet waiting for her to wear them. We have pink (are you seeing a trend here) pillows, blankets and stuffed animals. There are also the pink letters that spell our daughter's name waiting for her.

We are all waiting her. Our little baby shmishmer. We can't wait to see her.

The Process

(Author's note: This post has been a long time coming. The last few months have been a whirlwind as you will soon see. Warning: this is gonna be a long one so get comfortable. Also, this is post #100. I couldn't think of a better subject to celebrate this milestone. Enjoy.)

It all started with a question. Most of the major events of my life have started with a question:

"Have you thought about going to Taylor University?"
"What would you think if I held your hand?"
"What do you think of the name, Riley?"
"Have you ever been to Buffalo Wild Wings?"

This was no different.

"Would you ever consider moving to the Midwest?"

This relatively benign question was asked by my brother in law a year ago in the parking lot of a Best Buy in Muskegon, MI. There was no agenda (that I know of) with that question. I thought that my equally benign (but honest) answer of "if the right opportunity came up" was the end. However, it was only the beginning.

My other brother in law heard this answer and said nothing. That is, until he was back home in Chicago, at church, talking to a friend, whose dad owns an insurance agency and was looking for a new agent.

Now, ever since I graduated from college, I have never left any job opportunity off the table. Truth be told, my first attempt at finding a job was mailing a letter (remember doing that?) to the captain of a fishing boat in Key West. I never heard back. Since then, I have held four different jobs as well as two stints working for my dad's construction company. I have never really known what I wanted to do but seem to have found a niche in insurance. I have been in my current job for 4 1/2 years which is 2 years longer than any other job I have ever held. I have enjoyed helping people understand something that makes no sense to them. Plus people like you when you save them money. Like all jobs, there are negative parts but overall I have loved my job and have had no thoughts of leaving.

So when I first spoke to Jordan, it was my attempt to just see if God MIGHT be working. I certainly wasn't looking to move. However, I would never turn any job opportunity down (except recruiting, I did that once and will never do it again) . After talking with him, I just didn't feel a peace about the timing. The job itself seemed great but something told me that it just wasn't the right time. So I declined, thinking that would be the end. But (wait for it) it was only the beginning.

Fast forward six months to the end of this summer. God had been very busy closing doors in Missy's and my life. Doors related to the future of our jobs. Doors related to the church we had finally settled into. It was getting to the point of almost being comical. God was CRYSTAL clear. He had other plans for us.

Independently and unbeknownst to each other, Missy and I had both had Chicago in the back of our minds. That is until one of us asked (there is that question again) the other if we ever thought about Chicago. After talking about it, we both agreed that God was working. For the past few years, we both had had this feeling of being in a holding pattern. We watched our friends and family get involved in things, have clear direction from God, be excited about what was happening in their lives. And we simply didn't have that. Not that we weren't happy with our lives. We had made some incredible connections and friends. We loved being close to my family. Our weekend trips to our place in Maryland were great. (To this day, the last thing Riley tells me before he goes to bed is that he is going to dream about the "bayhouse, boat ride and the beach".) But something was missing. God had been saying "Wait." Now we both felt He was saying that the time of waiting was over.

So we agreed to once again to get in touch with Jordan. And ask a question. "Is this opportunity still on the table?" We simply prayed before hitting the "Send" button, "Your will be done."

The answer to that question was yes. And that led to scheduling a trip out to Chicago to meet Jordan and his dad, Bill. And that was preceded by a month of panicking by me leading up to the trip. You see, I am a panicker. I experienced my first panic attack five minutes before I proposed to Missy (the first time). I handle uncertain and new situations, especially ones of this magnitude, with fear and anxiety. And overthinking. And then more thinking. And sleepless nights. It's what I do.

However, two days before the big trip, it all changed. I was as cool as a cucumber. I was the Fonz. I felt no anxiety (other than a little nervousness which is normal and understandable). I was at peace. And with that, I flew out to Chicago.

Two weeks later, after much prayer, thought and conversation with friends and family that I love, trust and respect tremendously, I told Jordan I would take the job. We took that scary first step.

Short of showing up at our door and telling us what to do, God made it clear through closing so many doors and opening one big one in the Midwest that He had a plan for us. If we loved Him and trusted Him and said we would follow Him, here was our chance. God was telling us to put our money where our mouth was. To not go would make us hypocrites.

Now since that time, we have been busy getting ready to go, specifically, with our house. We had grandiose plans for our house. Plans that would span several years. Those plans were either changed, fast tracked or scrapped. We needed to get the house in selling condition and we needed to do it fast.

And here is where I thank God for my dad. He is a genius in all things construction. We have leaned on him over the past two years to help us work on our house. Now, we had to lean, hang, pull and drag on him to help us get our house in shape in the necessary timeframe. And though it understandably is painful for him to see his family go to the Midwest, he has come through tremendously in making our house look BEAUTIFUL in a very short period of time. He has shown me what sacrificial love looks like through boxes of flooring and shingles and spackle and concrete. Thanks Dad.

So here we are. Once again in a holding pattern. Though now we know where we are landing. At least somewhat. I don't know Chicago. I know where I will be working. I know we will be closer to some family and our college friends. But that is it. Our first step has led to a walk of faith with many steps into the unknown. But we are confident that God led us here and that He will be there with us in the Windy City. And we are excited to see what He has for us.

If you have made it this far, thanks for reading. This is a little insight into the process Missy and I have gone through to make the biggest decision of our married life. Hopefully this will help you if you are in a holding pattern and/or seeking what God has in store for you. Just one last piece of advice:

Be careful of how you answer questions.

My Stint as a Single Parent

A few months ago (I started this post about a month and a half ago and it got left on the shelf for a while obviously), Missy had the opportunity to have a "Girls Weekend". Since Riley was born, she never had a "Girls Weekend". I have had one or two "Boys Weekend" a year since he was born. So it was time. And I was excited for her.

But that meant that Riley and I were bach'ing (that is my hip made up verb for bachelor - you know like no girls, I'm an idiot) it for the weekend. Now he and I have had numerous days together mostly when Missy was at work. But we have never had an overnight much less two. So as much as I wanted Missy to have a great time away, I was, let's call it, curious to see how it would go with the two of us.


I decided to take Riley to our house in Maryland for the weekend. First, my family was going to be there so I would have some help with Riley. Secondly, all summer all he had been asking about is the "Bayhouse, Boatride and Beach".

Riley typically is not a great sleeper at the Bay. I don't know if he knows that he could be experiencing the "Boatride and Beach" portions of the weekend at any time or what. But he doesn't do a lot of sleeping and this weekend was no different. However, the problem this time was that I couldn't really trade off with Missy while Riley was not sleeping. At night, I couldn't sleep while she got up with him or vice versa. Naps were no different. After one sleepless night, I was ready for a nap myself. However, rather than actually sleeping, Riley discovered that he was now big enough to climb out of his crib. Good times all around.

Overall, the weekend ended up going pretty well. It was great to have my family there. They certainly helped and provided me with some moments of relaxation. However, when it came to the overall parenting duties, I was on my own and it wore me out. And that was just one kid. For one weekend.

When I think about a single parent, more specifically a single mom, the picture that comes to mind is an exasperated woman out at the store with crying kids climbing all over her. When I was young and ignorant, I would think, "Wow, what a bad parent. Why can't she control her kids?" Now, and especially after that weekend, I think, "Wow. She is amazing. She has the energy to WALK!"

In my little weekend trip with Riley, I gained a new and tremendous appreciation for single parents. Parenting is tough. It is draining. Even when you can split duties. If it is just one person, I can't imagine how one would do it. I was alone with Riley for a little over 48 hours and I felt like I had run three marathons (actually I may have trying to chase him around and put his pajamas on).

Not only did I gain appreciation for single parents I gained appreciation for Missy. She is so tremendously organized in getting Riley's "stuff" (of which there is a lot) together for every trip out of the house - trips to the store, the beach, the restaurant. I practically forgot the child himself when we went places. There are so many things that she does to make our lives and Riley's life run smoothly and I didn't even realize it until that weekend.

Finally, I gained even more appreciation for Riley. He is such a good boy. He is beautiful. He is so incredibly sweet. His love and excitement for life and everything in it should be bottled up and sold. When I go through my day, I look forward to resting, watching TV and eating snacks. Riley stands in awe of nature - birds, water, sand, fishies, flowers, leaves, worms. His sole focus in life is to enjoy it. Obviously, he doesn't have the worries and concerns that I do. However, I could take a page from his life's playbook once in a while. And the times I do are the instances when I smile the most.

All in all, it was good weekend. For lots of reasons. Missy got her Girls Weekend in. Riley and I had our Boys Weekend. Missy got to rest. I got to think about Missy resting. Most importantly, I got to spend wonderful time with my son who was able to teach his dad a few things about life.

"No, I do it!!!"

(Writer's note: This is my first blog using our new laptop. I feel like I should be wearing glasses with thick frames, sitting at Starbucks and blogging about injustice.)

Riley is just about two and a half. He is growing and developing in so many ways both good and bad. He is speaking much more clearly. He is amazing us with the tasks he can do.

And he has developed a strong sense of independence.

That independence comes out often and is usually signaled by the toddler phrase of "No, I do it!" This can be about getting out of a car himself. Or opening a refrigerator himself. Or picking up a toy himself. Missy and I will try and do something for him and immediately get cut off.

"No, I do it!"

The fact is, sometimes, he CAN do it. He is capable of some of things we are working to help him with. However, he refuses to let others help. In other situations, he simply can't do it yet he still he insists he can.

And that struck me tonight in a powerful way.

You see, for the past few weeks or so, I have really struggled. I felt pressure in 100 different directions. I have felt pressure at work. I have felt pressure in my community work. I have felt pressure as a husband and a father. I have felt pressure about my future. I have felt pressure as a homeowner. I have felt pressure as a Christian. I have even felt pressure as a (very part time) blogger.

And it has had consequences.

I have had minor anxiety attacks. I have had major headaches. I have not slept well. Physically, I have been a wreck.

And then tonight, as I tried to help Riley with something and heard that familiar phrase, it struck me that I have been saying the EXACT same thing.

"No, I do it!"

You see, I am a control freak. I am a perfectionist. I expect a lot from others but I expect the world from myself. And that has been eating me alive. And I just realized it.

I want to control EVERYTHING. I have this subconscious feeling that I can do all things. I can do all things immediately. And only I can do them to my perfectionist expectations.

"No, I do it!"

What has become quite clear is that I can't do it. Just like Riley can't do it. Some things, a few things, yes. Everything? No. At other times, even if I could do it, there is someone else who is just as capable and perhaps more so than me.

I have realized that most (but not all) of the pressure that I have been feeling has been internal.

"No, I do it!"

There are the natural pressures as well. Pressures from clients. Pressures from coworkers. Pressures from the roles I am in (husband, father, volunteer, etc.). These pressures come with existing in this world and for the most part, they are manageable and even healthy.

What has brought me to the brink is the internal and perhaps prideful pressure to be perfect. To be in control. In all things. At all times.

I simply can't do it. I am like Riley trying to open the refrigerator door while holding two stuffed animals and a juice cup. It's impossible to do but he insists on doing it himself.

What I need to do is stop. What I need to do is look to my heavenly Father and say "Help, please". I CAN'T do it. And I shouldn't expect to do it. Expecting to do all things myself is just as silly as Riley and the refrigerator. However, just like Riley, I couldn't see it. I couldn't be removed from the situation and the tremendous desire to do it myself.

What does that mean from here on out? I don't know. Like I said, I just had this realization tonight and thought I would and should share. I ask that you pray for me as I try and get over myself. If you struggle with the same thing, let me know and I will pray for you as well.

God bless to you all and thanks for reading.

Michael Vick

OK, I'll bite.

There have been somewhere in the neighborhood of 947592374092374725973049857 articles posted on Michael Vick since he was signed with my beloved Philadelphia Eagles. For me, the news broke when my bro-in-law called last Thursday when Missy and I were driving home from my mom's birthday dinner. Let me throw in my two cents along with every other person who owns a keyboard.

I couldn't believe it. Michael Vick? Here? In Philadelphia?

I remember watching an interview of Eagles head coach Andy Reid two days prior to the signing where he said that he was "very happy with the quarterback situation". So why the change?

Frankly, I have no idea. Not because he is an ex felon and that he did horrible things to dogs. If I can throw that out the window for a minute, it doesn't make a lot of sense when you consider that the Eagles just signed their overly-sensitive-doesn't-want-to-hear-that-his-job-may-be-in jeopardy franchise quarterback to a two year extension and they spent a high draft pick to get the supposed heir apparent to said quarterback two years ago. You don't drop $2 million on a third string QB. I could be the third string quarterback on the Eagles. So from that standpoint, it is an odd choice. And hearing that McNabb lobbied for it; that is either McNabb being extremely secure, self-confident and mature or being mind-blowingly stupid and potentially shooting himself in both feet.

Now to the part about the dogs. I love dogs. I balled my eyes out as a 29 year old (or was I 28?) when our family dog died. I cried for months after Cody died. We still have pictures up of him in our house. And I forgive Michael Vick. I think that people are so passionate about Michael Vick because people are passionate about animals and dogs specifically. Let's say you are in a room of 20 people and are watching the news. If a story about someone being shot and killed comes across the screen, no one will look up from their coffee. However, if a story about an abandoned dog comes up, people will be leaving the room and crying. Dogs are not people. However, they can instill an emotion that is as strong if not stronger than people can.

I don't understand the world of dogfighting. It doesn't make sense to me. It is a culture that I can't wrap my mind around. However, it exists and apparently Vick got into it at a young age. This idea that because he killed dogs he is on the same plane as a psychopath or serial killer - whose distinguishing feature is cruelty to animals - is absurd. Michael Vick is not a psychopath. He was (and it will remain to be seen if he still is) a stupid, immature, spoiled brat with horrendous taste in friends. And he paid dearly for it. Just because he did something horrible and did it specifically to dogs which people love doesn't mean he shouldn't be forgiven. And it doesn't mean that he can't move on with the rest of his life.

Michael Vick is not a doctor. He is not a lawyer. He is not even a burger flipper. He is a football player. He has a God-given ability that few on this Earth possess. He can do things with a football that no one can do. If he was any of the other things, I would think he should get a chance to be them again. It just so happens that his gifts are in the most popular and media-crazed occupation in the country. I give the Eagles props for sticking their neck out for him. Like with McNabb, time will tell if the move was made from a secure, confident stance or a desperate press of the panic button.

Of course, as an Eagles fan, I hope this works out. I hope NFL Films is running hour long specials in 20 years about the greatest offense in history featuring McNabb, Westbrook and Vick. The Michael Vick experiment will start in a few weeks. Here's hoping it works out better than the T.O. experiment. Because I sure would love a Super Bowl trophy to go along with our World Series ring.....

Our Late Night Visitor....

They say that the home is a sanctuary. It is a place of refuge. It is the place where you can be yourself. Home is where the heart is.

And within that sanctuary is the bedroom. The place where you sleep. The room you wouldn't allow anyone into when you were a teenager. The sanctuary within the sanctuary.

So when Missy woke me at 2:00 in the morning a few nights ago saying there was something in our room, my heart stopped. Initially, I thought it was a bug. Missy hates bugs. Especially ones that fly. And especially ones that crunch when you squeeze them. However, a flutter of air and dark wings right past my face confirmed my biggest fear.

There was a bat in our bedroom.

And it was 2:00 in the morning.

Frankly, I was impressed with my quick thinking. I knew there was a trash bag in our hallway waiting to replace the one in Riley's room. I instantly crawled over Missy, who screamed from her hiding spot under the covers thinking I was the bat trying to attack her. I ran into in the hallway and grabbed the bag before the bat had a chance to make a break for the rest of our house. I had Missy run down and get a broom from the porch.

Missy, in her nightgown, postured herself ready to strike or swat away our winged intruder. I, in my gym shorts and bed head, had an open Hefty bag ready to snag the flying rodent.

We were armed and ready.

After making a few trips around our room, the bat made a home in the corner of our room next to a curtain. It gave us a chance to strategize and position for our first attack. I moved our tv cabinet and slid a chair next to the vermin's hang out spot. The plan was to cover the area and have the bat fly into the bag. Unfortunately, he (or possibly she) had a counter attack already planned. The bat dropped down below the bag and then buzzed past my left ear.

Missy did her best to swat at it but to no avail. The bat flew around the room a few more times and then settled on another curtain.

This gave us another chance to plan attack number two. Attack number two consisted of Missy attempting to knock the bat to the ground and me trying to cover it with the bag. (Once again, I was impressed with our clarity of thought when we had been sleeping only five minutes earlier). However, once again, the plan failed. Missy had a swing and a miss at the bat and it was off again.

At this point, all plans were out the window. It was time to stab and grab as best we could. Fortunately after a few attempts, I believe by the grace of God, I snagged the bat out of the air in mid flight. I promptly rushed to our bedroom window and tried to throw it out. However, the screen was still down so the attempt failed. I quickly threw the screen up, tossed the whole bag out the window slammed the window shut.

We had won. Our visitor who, according to the investigative committee report, got in through a gap in our bathroom closet ceiling, was gone. However, the aftershock had just begun.

Missy and I were both shaking. Everytime we closed our eyes, we had that sensation of fluttering wings above our heads. We ripped the house apart. We looked in every corner of the place for a friend of our visitor. Finally, we were satisfied that the only living things in our house had the last name of Delp.

But we couldn't sleep. And it was 2:30 in the morning. So we started talking; trying to take our minds off of the bat. I came up with some of my best college prank stories. Missy came up with her one college prank story. We discussed how much we missed our college friends.

Finally, 4:00 came around and we did our best to fall asleep.

But we left the light on.

Since then, Missy has checked our room every night for bats. I am planning to cover that gap as soon as humanly possible. In talking to our neighbors, almost everyone one of them has had ONE run in with a bat.

Here's hoping this is the only one we ever have to run into. I don't think my heart or my hand-eye coordination could handle another visit.

An Open Letter

This is an open "letter" to those couples who are pregnant, may become pregnant or are contemplating adding a child to their family some time within their lifetime.

As a parent, we gave our children a number of things that last their entire lifetime. Eye color. Hair color. Skin color. Temperment. Sense of humor (or lack thereof). Athletic ability (or lack thereof). Musical ability (or lack thereof) The list goes on. However, with each of these, because we were born with each of these traits, it is not our choice per se to pass them on to our children. However, there is one thing that we give our children that lasts their entire lifetime that we are solely responsible for.

Their name.

The inspiration for this post came a while ago when Missy and I took Riley to an indoor playground/melting pot of kids, foam, slides and sweat. We were watching our son happily dodge seven year olds as they ran, punched, kicked and tackled anything in their way. All of a sudden, a woman who was old enough to have survived the Titanic shuffled in with a 40 year old camera. She feebly tried to corral two of the boys for long enough to get a picture of her grandsons.

"Braxton!"

"Jagger!"

"Come over here, please. Braxton, can you stand next to your brother Jagger, please?"

From that moment, I knew I had write this post.

As a parent, you are given a tremendous responsibility to name another human being. That name will stay with them forever. I felt this weight when we were pregnant with Riley. Missy bought the baby name book and we combed through thousands of names until we found the one we thought was perfect. There are certain things you need to avoid when naming your child.

#1. You cannot give them a name that rhymes with something kids can pick on them for.
#2. You shouldn't give them a name that doesn't definitely tell what gender they are. (Oops. "Oh, your son is named Riley? We have a daughter and a niece named Riley!")

However, I would like to add another rule to the child naming commandments.

Think of the oldest person you are related to - preferably a grandparent or great grandparent. They will LOVE your child. And they will say your child's name. Pick a name that doesn't sound weird when an old person says it. They won't know it sounds weird. Actually they might but that won't stop them from saying it. Other people are going to have to hear them say it and will feel bad because their grand (or great grand) child has a name that the parent tried too hard to sound cool.

There are some sub-rules that go with this one:
-don't name your child after the name of a musician - Jagger, Braxton, Elvis
NOTE: Dylan is acceptable.
-don't name them after places - London, Ireland, Paris
-don't name them after nouns - Rider, Hunter, Pearl
And a new one inspired by a recent playground encounter:
-don't take great names and give your kid a knockoff name - Briley. I would also add "Bryan" to this list. Why mess with a good thing?

So all of that to say, you parents have a tremendous responsibility. You will not only impact your child but the hundreds or thousands of people who will have to say that child's name.
Follow the above rules and you will go a long way to giving your child a happy life.

(Author's note: This post was written while sitting in a room with no air conditioning. Any misspellings, grammatical errors or the fact that his child's name completely contradicts the above rules can be directly attributed to the fact that the author wrote this post while facing temperatures similar to those found on the surface of the sun. Gosh we need a laptop.)

Five Hours in MSP

Airports are a stressful place. Typically the minute I walk out of my house to go to an airport, I move up a notch in terms of stress level. Once I walk through the revolving doors into the actual airport, it goes up another level. I don't fully relax and take a deep breath until I get to my desination.....and pick up my bags from baggage claim. But that's a story for another time.

Once we had Riley and started traveling on planes with him, those stress levels increased ten-fold. Now don't get me wrong, Riley is a VERY good traveler. He loves planes. He loves de-icing trucks. He loves baggage claim carousels. He even likes it when his stuff gets to go through the "tunnel" in security. However, he is two and requires a small arsenal of toys, snacks, books and juice. And sometimes (usually on the trip back) he doesn't always want to go where we need to go when we need to go there. And he makes his dislike for such demands known publicly.

This past week, we flew to North Dakota to have a series of family reunions with Missy's family. We reun'ed (I just made that word up for this blog alone but you can use it if you like) with Missy's aunt (Missy's mom's sister) and her family. We reun'ed with Missy's dad's siblings and their family. We reun'ed with Missy's grandmother and Riley's great-grandmother. Though that was the first time Riley met her. He was a little shy but did bust out a few verses of "I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joy" for her. AND we reun'ed with Missy's family (parents, siblings and their family) which we do biannually and is certainly one of the things we most look forward to throughout the year. It was a great time to see family we haven't seen in a long time, meet new family members and truly take in the North Dakota culture (check out the family blog - delppartyofthree.blogspot.com for pictures and one of my favorite new videos of Riley).

It was wonderful but all the running around didn't help with Riley's nap schedule. In short, he didn't have a nap schedule except for one day on the trip. So by the time we lifted off from the Minot International Airport heading for Minneapolis/St. Paul (or MSP for airport code), we were all tired and had already experienced one of Riley's public displays of displeasure towards, well, pretty much everything.

And we were headed for a five hour layover.

Northwest, as wonderful as they are, pushed our last flight back three times between when I booked the trip and when we left. We had a nice hour and a half layover that would get us home around 5:00 pm. When we took off, it had been pushed to five hours. I figured I could take evasive action once we arrived in MSP and get us on an earlier flight a la "Amazing Race". However, I was informed when we stepped off the plane that we could go standby if we paid $150 and came back to the airport to get our bags. Since one of our "bags" (a trash bag) was Riley's car seat, there was no option. We were staying for the long haul.

And let's say things were slightly tense. I was fully prepared for five hours in the third circle of hell.

However, Missy and I prayed over Riley's chicken nuggets and our "morale builder" - day old, overpriced sushi - lunch that we would make the most of the time we had.

And the weird thing was, we did.

In fact, we had a blast. We had the rare opportunity to be in an airport, with a two year old, with no stress. We had nothing but time. Riley could do WHATEVER he wanted for almost five hours in a place that offered more fun and cooler stuff than any playground I have seen.

We rode escalators. We rode people movers. Mostly in circles back and forth, up and down. We rode the tram between Gates C-D, over and over and over. We played at the indoor playground. We watched the endless line of carts as they honked and transferred elderly and overweight people through the airport.

All while surrounded by stressed travelers and in some cases, their displeased children.

And the time flew.

Before we knew it, we were figuring what to do for dinner and making sure we could squeeze it in before we boarded our flight for Philly.

No one would ever accuse me of being overly optimistic. If I saw a glass that was filled halfway with water, I would complain that it wasn't Coke. However, experiences like this open my eyes to the fact that in almost any situation, we have the ability to control our perspective of that situation. I could have easily sulked and pouted for five hours. But instead, we embraced the fact that we had an entire billion dollar facility at our fingertips. And other than some "Watch out, Riley" 's and some "Sorry, excuse us" 's, we had the world's most elaborate family playground to ourselves.

Some highlights:
Riley in front of one of his favorite things: A motorcycle

Riley in awe of the tram in all its "choo choo" glory.

Father's Day: Tom Cochrane, Fergie and Madonna

Our weekly trip is always an adventure. Our church is about 30 minutes away from our house. Over the the past year and a half since we started attending our church, Riley has pointed out some staples on the trip that have become highlights that he looks forward to. To name a few:

-haybails
-horses
-cows
-a big bus
-an ambulance

So on this day, our trip to church went pretty much the way it has gone for the last 18 months or so. However, the trip back was a little different and made for a sweet early Father's Day memory for me.

There are two things (among others) that Riley has developed a love for. Singing and the Disney movie "Cars". These two loves have recently converged in the form of a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. Bear with me here. One of the songs (the one he has dubbed as THE "Cars Movie Song") is a Rascal Flatts cover of the 1991 song "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane (a personal favorite of mine back in my early high school days, I'm sure it is on a mix tape somewhere). This song, which obviously is played in the movie, also popped up along with a few other random pop songs on a sample CD Riley got in a Happy Meal from McDonald's.

On this CD, which is called Kidz Bop, a bunch of kids and a wanne be rock star singer perform the Tom Cochrane song, Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", Daughtry's "Home" and Madonna's "Holiday". It is a very random assortment of pop songs but because it has the beloved "Cars Movie Song", Riley has been asking to listen to this CD often. Today's ride home was one of those instances.

Recently, as Riley has gotten more familiar with the songs, he has "sung" along with them; every "yeah!", "woo!" and even the "gimme gimme gimme gimme, yeah!" from "Life is a Highway". It is a sweet, hilarious and heartwarming experience to listen (because he has forbidden us to sing with him - I guess we disrupt his flow) to him sing.

However, today, he asked both Missy and I to sing with him individually.

So there I was driving home from church, singing a 18 year old song with my two year old son......with tears in my eyes. I can't explain it but there is something beautiful about hearing your child sing. I don't know if it is the realization of hearing/seeing your child express themselves. I don't know if it the cuteness factor of a two year, who is just starting to talk clearly, sing pop songs. I'm not sure but I know that it made it hard for me to get the words out because I was too choked up.

Like most people (especially on Life is a Highway), Riley would sort of mumble the words until he got to a part he knew - "mumumumumumum, life is a highway! Mumumumumumum all night long! Gimme gimme gimme yeah!"

After he got done with "Life is a Highway" for the fifth time, he moved on to Fergie. I don't know how I feel about him singing (at least attempting) "It's time to be a big girl now, and big girls don't cry" but when I heard, "mumumumumum cry!!!!", my heart melted. Even though it was Fergie.

Today's memory is one I will never forget. To sing with my child was a blessing that will stay with me forever.

Thanks for making it a great Father's Day, Riley. If life IS a highway, you made the trip a little sweeter today.

Observations of a Playground Parent

Since becoming a parent, I have become much more aware of how others parent their children. Before I was a father, I would only really notice the parent of the kid who was screaming in the store. I would instantly think that person was a terrible parent and the child was destined to a life of doing 10-20 for holding up liquor stores. Now, I am a little more "enlightened" and realize EVERY parent will go through that at some point. The screaming child, I mean. Hopefully not the felon child.

One place, I have really noticed a difference in parenting styles is on the playground. Now that the weather is finally getting nicer, we have had the opportunity to come out of our cave and go to one of several parks in our area - most within walking distance. The time I personally have been able to take the most advantage of this is on the Saturdays that Missy works. While, it is not fun to have Missy work on a Saturday or two a month, it has given Riley and I the chance to have some great father/son time. And typically our father/son time ends up at a local park.

We went to one pretty large park a few weeks ago and here I observed several different parents interacting with their child in a number of different ways. Here is how I would classify them:

1. The Doomsday Parent - This is the parent who watches their child from a distance and only communicates with them through predictions of unspeakable danger.

"Timmy, get off of there! You are going to break your neck!"

2. The MIA Parent - This is the one who is there but not really. They are talking to friends or reading or flirting or asleep or something. All the while their child is standing next to Timmy on top of the two story playground equipment getting ready to cannonball off the side.

3. The Cell Phone Parent - The cell phone parent could also be called the life story parent. This is the person who is on their cell phone while their child plays and is usually talking to someone so loudly that you can hear their life story. My guess is that is probably their intention but I don't know why.

"I can't believe she would do that to you! I know! I have never liked her. I don't even know why she still HAS a job." Or.....

"I have had the WORST stomach issues! We had Chinese last night and I was in the bathroom for 45 minutes! I should go to the doctor but I might have to get an enema."

Now the cell phone parent can easily combine with both of the first two. They can be so engrossed in a conversation on the cell phone that they missed seeing their child get TKO'd while walking in front of another kid on a swing. Or the Life Story parent:
"I need to see a specialist about my foot. This bunion is......NO NO NO NO NO! Get out of there! You will get your head cut off!"

Now the last parent type I see at that playground and the one I try and be, when I am not telling others about my bunions is...

4. The Interactive Parent. This is the one who actually plays with their child at the playground. They go down the slides with them. They swing on the swings with them. They get stuck in tunnels (like I do pretty much every time) with them. They are usually sweating. There will come a day when Riley will not think it is the greatest thing in the world that his parents will play with him. But until that day comes, I am going to run around, get stuck and sweat for him.

If you can think of any other parent types, I would love to hear them.

Now get away from there! You could contract the plague!

Where in the world is Ryan Delp????

I know, I know. I have had the police call TWICE to make sure I was still alive. I saw my own picture on the back of a milk carton. Don't worry. I am still alive. I am still (mostly) sane. I am still capable of typing and still have some access to a computer.

So the question is: where have you been? The simple answer?

Painting.

We have had dreams of redoing our kitchen since we moved in. We have done small things but the big stuff, namely replacing the floor and painting the cabinets, we have put off.

Until now.

Right after I got my wisdom teeth out.

I was actually hoping to have some of those swollen cheek pictures after I got my wisdom teeth out. I really was. However, it didn't happen. The doctor said that the teeth came out great and didn't think I would have any swelling. And I didn't. I didn't have to take Vicodin which was a disappointment. I DID have to eat yogurt and shakes which got old after about 8 hours. And now I have that little syringe thing to keep everything clean. So overall, not too painful a process.

The only real downside was that I had to confer with the guys installing our dishwasher (more on that later) about 4 hours after I had my surgery. I don't remember much from that conversation other than I told them that the dishwasher was in the basement.....as they were standing next to it at the bottom of the basement steps. So I'm sure it was a great conversation.

So the plan was to rip out the vinyl floor, put in tile, take out our dishwasher which I think was first used by the Pilgrims after the first Thanksgiving, replace it with a donated newer one and then paint our cabinets, install the new hardware and enjoy our beautiful kitchen. It seemed like a week to two week job at most.

We ripped out our floor on March 23rd. We hung the cabinet doors (thus pretty much completing the job) tonight - April 21st. Two days shy of a month.

Overall, it was actually a pretty smooth process. The only hiccup really was that the donated dishwasher apparently had a family of hungry mice living it that caused $300 worth of damage. So we bought a new diswasher. We lived off of McDonald's and cereal for a few days while our floor was being tiled. It really wasn't too bad. Just time consuming.

We started painting around the beginning of April. Two coats of primer. On the cabinets. And on the doors. Each side. Then two coats of finish paint. On the cabinets. And on the doors. Each side. Then spray painting the existing hardware to match the ones the bought. Each side. You get the idea.

So finally, a month and some change later, I can proudly post the before, during and after shots of our kitchen. Enjoy.

Before.....















During......









After.......















Oh and then our sewer line backed up into our yard and we had to replace the whole thing.













I, for one, am very much looking forward to what May has in store. More blog posts perhaps....

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

OK, so allow me to be 6 years old for a minute. I LOVE this time of year. And I have selfish reasons so please indulge me.

I will get the selfish one out of the way. My birthday is this time of year. I am old enough to start seeing my age when I look in the mirror. However, I am not old enough to dread my birthday. I LIKE my birthday if for no other reason than to get emails, texts, phone calls and cards from friends and family. It is nice to be shown how much you are loved every once in a while and I got plenty of love this year. Especially now that I am on Facebook (see previous blog post). I checked my email on my birthday and there were 45 new emails - most of them from Facebook messages. This year, my sis in law, Mel and her husband Scott flew in to visit. We did the Philly thing (cheesesteaks, Liberty Bell, cut off in traffic, sworn at) and then went out for sushi and hibachi that night. Couple that with being able to take the day off from work and play nine holes of golf and it was the perfect day. Also, in case you care, I share the same birthday as American icons - Chuck Norris, American Idols - Carrie Underwood and ANTI-American Icons - Osama bin Laden.

Next, it is Riley's birthday. I get excited for my birthday but I get very excited for Riley's. He is still a little too young to understand what is going on but the nostalgic sap comes out in me. Last year, we symbolically turned his car seat around after his party because now as a one year old, he could face forward. Overdramatic? Probably. But I loved it. I can't believe the kid is going to be two. It seems like a week ago he was born yet at the same time it seems like a lifetime ago. Actually, I guess it has been a lifetime ago. Riley's lifetime. Riley, by the way, shares his birthday with all kinds of American icons - Reese Witherspoon, Bob Costas, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Louis L'Amour and my personal favorite, William Shatner.

Next, the weather is finally changing. I don't know if it was because we were sharing a house with a stir crazy toddler but this winter seemed to go forever. The weather is hitting the 40's and 50's and we are scrambling to go out for walks. I saw the sun for the first time in months. We talked to our neighbors for more than 4 seconds today for the first time in 2009. It was like everyone is coming out of hibernation. Spring can't come fast enough.

And Final-ly, March Madness is upon us. I am not sure when I got so crazy about the Men's NCAA Basketball tournament but I love it. I start watching college basketball in the fall just to get an idea of what teams are decent so I can be prepared for March Madness. Yes, I have run two pools for years and no I haven't won either but that's ok. The first Thursday and Friday when games start at noon and go all day is one of the highlights of my year. I remember sitting in the hospital after Riley was born watching games on the 2 inch tv they have in the room and thinking how great it was going to be to watch games all week while I was on paternity leave. Little did I realize that I wouldn't be sleeping much that week and was too tired to watch the games. I watch as many games as I can and I have the little scoreboard on my computer at work. (I don't think my boss reads this blog but it doesn't matter because he does the same thing). Also, because the tournament is on CBS, they constantly run commercials for my second favorite sporting event to watch each year - the "tradition unlike any other - The Master's on CBS".

So I am in heaven right now. My taxes are done (and we got a refund - thank YOU mortgage interest!), the basketball games start Thursday. We are spending the weekend celebrating mine and Riley's birthdays. I hear the temperature is going to hit 60 tomorrow. Everything is looking up.

Now I just need a North Carolina national championship......